About the speakers

K’aayhlt’aa Haanas (Valine Brown) is an organizer, communications professional, and devoted Haida citizen belonging to the K’aawas Eagle Clan. Her work is rooted in her homelands, and Valine’s academic and advocacy efforts are centered around Indigenous title, rights, and responsibilities. She believes in the power of people and connection to place and she is fiercely committed to building community resilience amid the climate crisis. Valine does her strategizing on the beach and finds inspiration in the forests of her homelands, Haida Gwaii.

Darcy Lindberg is mixed-rooted Plains Cree, with his relations coming from Samson Cree Nation in Alberta and the Battleford-area in Saskatchewan. He is currently an Assistant Professor with the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Law. Darcy has taught courses on constitutional law, Indigenous legal traditions, treaties, and Indigenous environmental legal orders.  He has previously been called to the Yukon and British Columbia bars, and practiced in the Yukon Territory.

Hannah Askew is the Executive Director of Sierra Club BC. She is a lawyer and practiced public interest environmental law prior to joining Sierra Club BC. Her work focused on addressing the cumulative impacts of industrial development on ecosystems and advocating for proactive and inclusive planning processes for the land and water.

Hannah has also been deeply involved in learning from Indigenous communities about their systems of law and governance. She worked as a researcher on Anishinaabe and Coast Salish legal orders for the Indigenous Law Research Unit at the University of Victoria and taught as an instructor in the Aboriginal Justice Studies Program at the Native Education College. She also researched Tsilhqot’in and Ktunaxa law as part of the RELAW project (“Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water”).

Hannah holds Master of Arts degrees in history and anthropology from the University of Toronto and McGill University, as well as a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was born on Anishinaabe territory into a family of English and Scottish descent.

Ascher Goodman moved from Oregon to B.C. in 2015 to study Forestry at UBC. During their time there, they worked as a research assistant in diverse fields from the human dimensions of conservation to studies on plant pathogens. Ascher has also held many jobs in education, and is currently a part of the Sierra Club of BC Education Team! They love working with teens and believe that all education is a two-way street. Ascher is very excited to be working with grades 6-12 in the lower mainland talking about climate change and how we can make the world better for everyone!